- Katy B – Live Review - 2 April, 2014
- Anticipating – Billy Lockett - 24 March, 2014
- Introducing – Salt Ashes - 14 March, 2014
Katy B is already having a strong 2014, her sophomore effort Little Red went to straight to number one in the UK album charts and the second single ‘Crying for No Reason’ placed within the top 5 on the singles charts. The fourth date of her ‘Little Red Tour’ at the Institute in Birmingham was packed all the way to the back of the room and leading up to the stairs. With just a three piece band and her name in big bold letters behind her, Katy B delivered a strong confident set list that other artists would be envious of.
Kicking off with a track from the deluxe version of Little Red, ‘Hot Like Fire,’ Katy B had the crowd jumping about straight away, without missing a beat, she then went into the lead single from the album the brilliant ‘5AM’ gaining a great response from the audience. The band was a great touch for the singer as she performed songs from her debut ‘On a Mission.’ It gave older tracks like ‘Easy Please Me’ and ‘Perfect Stranger’ a different vibe altogether. Another way of spicing up her set and getting the crowd even more into the Friday feeling was mixing covers into the songs. On ‘Broken Record’ she fused it with Baby D’s ‘Let Me Be Your Fantasy’ letting the crowd sing the chorus which can sometimes fail, but at this point Katy controlled the crowd and they all sang along. On new track ‘Blue Eyes’ she slipped in the chorus to Tina Moore’s ‘Never Gonna Let You Go’ again to applause and cheers.
The middle segment of the show saw the singer slow things down and showcase her vocal talent on new single ‘Still’ and of course ‘Crying for No Reason’ which, in a bold move, she stripped back to just a piano. The pace soon picked back up again right until the end with the stand alone single ‘What Love is Made Of’ and ‘Aaliyah’ which debuted on the ‘Danger’ EP last year. She commanded the audience to bounce and bubble with her, as well as telling stories behind her songs. Her friendliness and interaction with the crowd was certainly something to admire.
The show ended with two of the biggest songs in Katy’s repertoire ‘Katy on a Mission’ and ‘Lights On’ still performing to a vibrant crowd who over the course of an 18 song set was still dancing. The show has set a very high standard for the singer who will now spend a bulk of the summer playing festival crowds before returning to bigger venues in October.
